Why apply to prescribe under supervision in a public AOD clinical setting?
If you are a medical practitioner currently working under supervision in a public drug and alcohol treatment setting and will be prescribing opioid pharmacotherapies under supervision within your workplace, you should apply for approval to prescribe under supervision.
Please note, this approval only permits prescribing under supervision within your workplace and is not equivalent to accreditation to prescribe in other settings. You are encouraged to apply for accreditation after completing the Opioid Treatment Accreditation Course (OTAC), which provides statewide education on opioid treatment pharmacotherapies. Accreditation allows prescribing opioid pharmacotherapies without supervision, beyond the limited workplace setting covered by this approval.
Who can apply?
Medical practitioners in NSW who are starting or have recently started a drug and alcohol clinical role under supervision (e.g., as registrar, trainee or other medical officer) at a public drug and alcohol service are eligible to apply.
How to apply?
Complete the application form by clicking the button below. You will need to upload a current curriculum vitae (CV) and provide details about your role at a public drug and alcohol service in NSW, including clinic location, supervisor information, and the duration of your supervision.
Applications may take up to three business days to process. Both you and your nominated supervisor(s) will be notified by email of the application outcome.
Please note, this form is only for applying for approval to prescribe opioid pharmacotherapies under supervision at a public drug and alcohol service.
What happens next?
Once your application is approved by the Opioid Pharmacotherapy Subcommittee (OPS) secretariat, your details will be forwarded to the Pharmaceutical Services Unit (PSU) for addition to the SafeScript NSW system, allowing you to prescribe under supervision. This process may take up to 3 working days, and you will be notified by email once completed.
Upon approval, you are allowed to prescribe opioid pharmacotherapies for up to 125 patients while under supervised training.